This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Sarabi, M. Articles by Lind, L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sarabi, M. Articles by Lind, L. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Mental stress opposes endothelium-dependent vasodilation in young healthy individuals

Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Uppsala, Sweden

Lars Lind

Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Uppsala, Sweden, lars.lindKmedsci.uu.se

Mental stress has been shown to induce myocardial ischemia in people with coronary heart disease (CHD), both in the laboratory and in daily life. In order to investigate the role of the endothelium in the regulation of blood flow during stress, the endothelium-dependent (EDV) and endothelium-independent (EIDV) vasodilation was examined in the forearms of healthy people during a mental arithmetic test (MAT), a cold pressor test (CP) and an isometric handgrip test (ISO). A total of 10 young healthy volunteers (four men and six women, aged 20-25 years) underwent measurements of forearm vascular resistance (FVR) during local intra-arterial infusions of methacholine (MCh; inducing EDV) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP; inducing EIDV) at rest and during the different forms of stress by the use of venous occlusion plethysmography. MAT induced a significant increase in FVR during MCh infusion (4 mg/min, from 3.5 6 0.7 at rest to 4.2 6 1.4 mmHg/ml per min per 100 ml tissue during MAT; p, 0.01), while FVR during SNP infusion was unchanged by MAT. CP induced a significant increase in FVR during infusions with both MCh and SNP compared to resting levels (p, 0.01 for both), while ISO induced a significant increase in FVR during MCh infusion (p, 0.05) and a smaller increase in FVR during SNP infusion. When the SNP to MCh FVR ratio was used as an index of endothelial function, only MAT impaired endothelial function significantly (p, 0.01). In conclusion, mental stress induced by an arithmetic task selectively opposed EDV in the forearms of young healthy people, while cold pressor and isometric handgrip tests induced a more general attenuation in vasodilatation.

Key Words: blood flow • endothelium • mental stress • nitric oxide

Vascular Medicine, Vol. 6, No. 1, 3-7 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/1358836X0100600102


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. Dinh, S. Scovell, and A. Veves Review: Peripheral Arterial Disease and Diabetes: A Clinical Update International Journal of Lower Extremity Wounds, June 1, 2009; 8(2): 75 - 81. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. G. Mitchell, B. D. Duscha, J. L. Robbins, S. I. Redfern, J. Chung, D. R. Bensimhon, W. E. Kraus, W. R. Hiatt, J. G. Regensteiner, and B. H. Annex Increased levels of apoptosis in gastrocnemius skeletal muscle in patients with peripheral arterial disease Vascular Medicine, November 1, 2007; 12(4): 285 - 290. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. Stein, I. Hriljac, J. L Halperin, S. M Gustavson, V. Teodorescu, and J. W Olin Limitation of the resting ankle-brachial index in symptomatic patients with peripheral arterial disease Vascular Medicine, February 1, 2006; 11(1): 29 - 33. [Abstract] [PDF]

				L. R. Leon Jr, N. Labropoulos, P. Lebda, and P. G. Kalman The Vascular Surgeon's Role in Risk Factor Modification: Results of a Survey Perspectives in Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy, June 1, 2005; 17(2): 145 - 153. [Abstract] [PDF]

				C. M. Hutter, M. A. Austin, and S. E. Humphries Familial Hypercholesterolemia, Peripheral Arterial Disease, and Stroke: A HuGE Minireview Am. J. Epidemiol., September 1, 2004; 160(5): 430 - 435. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. J Kullo, K. R Bailey, S. L. Kardia, T. H Mosley Jr, E. Boerwinkle, and S. T Turner Ethnic differences in peripheral arterial disease in the NHLBI Genetic Epidemiology Network of Arteriopathy (GENOA) study Vascular Medicine, November 1, 2003; 8(4): 237 - 242. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. L. Hijmering, E. S. G. Stroes, J. Olijhoek, B. A. Hutten, P. J. Blankestijn, and T. J. Rabelink Sympathetic activation markedly reduces endothelium-dependent, flow-mediated vasodilation J. Am. Coll. Cardiol., February 20, 2002; 39(4): 683 - 688. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. Agnelli Rationale for the use of platelet aggregation inhibitors in PAD patients Vascular Medicine, February 1, 2001; 6(1_suppl): 13 - 15. [Abstract] [PDF]